This invention in general relates to amusement games incorporating playfields, such as pinball games.
Previously pinball game designs have included various types of switches and devices which are actuated by balls rolling over the playfield. Among these devices are wire form rollovers, button rollovers and star rollovers. Wire form rollovers incorporate a wire mounted on the playfield above a track with the wire connected to operate a control switch responsive to a ball moving along the track. Switch actuators of this type are relatively simple and inexpensive but have no aesthetic appeal. Button rollovers are typically made of a plastics material and are mounted in the playfield to operate a switch responsive to movement of a ball. Although button rollovers can have an attractive appearance and can be backlighted they have a number of limitations such as the need for precise pressure adjustment, otherwise the ball may not properly operate the rollover and can hang up on the playfield. Star rollovers are of relatively large dimensions and typically are made with an attractive aesthetic appearance, but they also have limitations such as the susceptibility to sticking in normal use which can result from the buildup of cleaning wax and dirt. It would be desirable to provide a ball rollover switch assembly having the simplicity and low cost of wire form rollovers but at the same time having the aesthetic appearance features of the botton and star rollovers without the latter's drawbacks.